Genesis (Baker Commentary on the Old Testament: Pentateuch)
Overview
Highly regarded Old Testament scholar John Goldingay offers a substantive and useful commentary on the book of Genesis that is both critically engaged and sensitive to the theological contributions of the text.
This volume, the first in a new series on the Pentateuch, complements the successful Baker Commentary on the Old Testament: Wisdom and Psalms series (series volumes have sold over 55,000 copies). Each series volume will cover one book of the Pentateuch, addressing important issues and problems that flow from the text and exploring the contemporary relevance of the Pentateuch. The series editor is Bill T. Arnold, Paul S. Amos Professor of Old Testament Interpretation at Asbury Theological Seminary.
- Addresses important issues and problems that flow from the text
- Explores the contemporary relevance of the Pentateuch
- Combines critical engagement and sensitivity to the theological contributions of the text
Top Highlights
“The first word, then, suggests that human beings will physically represent God in a living and lively way that contrasts with a ‘regular’ divine image.95 The second word suggests that they will be godlike in the way they do so.” (Page 36)
“Genesis makes clear that humanity is not the center of creation. The world was not created for humanity; if anything, humanity was created for the world.” (Page 48)
“The author of Gen. 1 did not witness the events that are described and has not been able to talk to people who witnessed them or listen to a story passed down by people who did so (with the possible exception of 1:27–30). He or she is either more like the author of Job or Proverbs, who imagines what creation would have been like, or like Jeremiah, whom God told about the manner of his creation.35 It makes no difference whether one thinks in terms of divinely inspired human imagination or humanly mediated divine revelation, because either way Gen. 1 offers a trustworthy figurative account of God’s historical act of creation.” (Page 23)
“The further backstory to Gen. 11:27–50:26 is God’s dealings with the world as a whole. These dealings are the subject of Gen. 1:1–11:26. It relates how God’s purpose to bless the world goes back to the very beginning, before which there can hardly be a backstory. The question it considers is clear: why did God settle on one particular family as a means of blessing the entire world? The answer is that God had tried blessing the entire world, and it hadn’t worked. Indeed, God had tried it twice, and neither time did it work.” (Page 13)
John Goldingay’s immense contribution to our understanding of the Old Testament over the past few decades cannot be overestimated. Now we have his detailed study of Genesis to guide us in our reading of this foundational book. Clergy and scholars particularly will benefit from his careful translation and interpretation as he brings out the book’s essential theological message.
—Tremper Longman III, Distinguished Scholar and Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies, Westmont College
Goldingay’s critically informed, resourceful, comprehensive, and relevance-driven volume stands out remarkably among others in the field. First, it exhibits the power of imagination in reading Hebrew narratives. Second, it expounds the text both intertextually within the First (Old) Testament and intertestamentally with rich and often innovative theological insights and directives. Third, it demonstrates vigorous and engaging efforts to bridge the gap between an ancient text and contemporary faith with fresh angles of perception. This is a commendable commentary for the church and academy today, for whoever wishes to hear the retelling of the Genesis narrative afresh.
—Barbara M. Leung Lai, research professor of Old Testament, Tyndale University and Seminary
The book of Genesis holds a fascination for many contemporary readers but also tends to strike them as something of an ‘alien’ text, multiple aspects of which are difficult to understand. Goldingay has written a wonderfully lucid guide to the story for brave readers who would like to feel at home in this foreign terrain, who aspire to hear in this literature the very Word of God to us. It is precisely in the deeply human and highly literary strangeness of the text that this Word must be found.
—Iain Provan, Marshall Sheppard Professor of Biblical Studies, Regent College, Vancouver
- Title: Genesis
- Author: John Goldingay
- Editor: Bill T. Arnold
- Series: Baker Commentary on the Old Testament: Pentateuch
- Publisher: Baker
- Publication Date: 2020
- Pages: 768
- Resource Type: Commentary
- Topic: Genesis
Reviews
1 rating
Glenn Crouch
5/7/2021
I did enjoy the journey through Genesis that Goldingay takes us on in this Commentary. Whilst it is a scholarly work, it is not overly so, and is very readable. I appreciated the Author’s translations in that he kept the names as in the text, but used what the reader is more used to in the Commentary. This is not a commentary for Hebrew Scholars, but the Author does make good use of the underlying Hebrew where needed for the approach he has taken. There are a few references to the old Source Criticism approach to Genesis, but the Author does adopt a more Canonical approach overall. The Author is writing primarily to a Christian audience and the occasional NT and Christological references are welcome. Whilst I do not always agree with the Author’s conclusions or assumptions, I did appreciate his passion for the material and he gave me much to think about - which has already provide useful for a recent Bible Study. Highly recommended for Pastors who want a bit more of a scholarly look at Genesis but not too much; and for those serious about Bible Study.
